60-Minute Gift: Herringbone Hot Pads

Combine a herringbone pattern with the popular zig zag for a fun, unique pot holder and trivet that is self binding. Or use the blocks to make a quilt! Great for Christmas gifts, teacher gifts and using up extra charm packs!

• 1 Simply Color charm pack or charm pack of your choice
• 1 yard of fabric for backing or four 14x14 inch squares
• 1/2 yard batting or eight 10x10 inch squares
• 1/2 yard insul-bright Insulating material or four 10x10 inch squares

I'm so excited to be here! I've been making these hot pads like crazy! You can hop over to my blog, Melanie Dramatic, to see several other examples in various Moda lines along with a few other ideas of what you can do with this design!

You'll start with one charm pack! (I cut down a layer cake to 5-inch squares since that's what I had!)

Cut your charm pack into 1 1/2 inch strips.  From one charm pack you'll get 3 'sets' of strips.



I prefer to use one set at a time while sewing.  Set two groups aside and sort the first stack by color.  Having them sorted into color groups helps me make sure I'm evenly distributing the colors and patterns throughout!

Now it's time to start sewing strips together using a 1/4 inch seam.

Alternating sides, continue to add strips.  (I finger press the seams down toward the bottom of the 'V' as I sew....although getting up to iron each seam during the process would be better exercise...)

Continue sewing until your first stack is gone!  You'll have a really fun, colorful, long herringbone strip!

Iron the seams down (toward the bottom of the 'V'). 

Square the top and cut two 11-inch sections.  (You will have left over.  Save that to start sewing your next strip set.)  Our hot pads will be 10 inches, but that little bit of extra length allows you to perfectly match seams.

Next you will trim off the extra on each side.  You want each rectangle to be 5 1/2 inches x 11 inches.  I match up the 2 1/2 inch mark on my ruler with the bottom/right 'V' for the first cut.  Then I rotate and cut the block to 5 1/2 inches width.

Pin your rectangles together at each seam. Seams will all face down. Do not worry about lining up the top and bottom.  Getting the seams to mach is more important!  Sew together with a 3/8 inch seam allowance.

Press center seam allowance open.

Trim your block to 10 inches x 10 inches.

You'll need one 14x14inch piece of fabric for the back, two 10x10 inch squares of batting and one 10x10 inch square of Insul-bright insulation.  It is a lot of layers, but I really like the extra sturdy feel this gives the hot pad - plus with the Insul-bright and extra batting, I'm not afraid to pull something out of the oven! (If you're going to use it solely for decoration, you could use one or two layers of batting only.)

Place the Insul-bright in between the two layers of batting and pin all layers together.  Spray basting also works well to hold everything in place.

Quilt as desired.  I love the look of following the seams with my 1/4 inch foot.

Carefully even batting and top layers ONLY if needed with scissors.  Next cut off the excess backing fabric so it is 1-inch larger than the top on each side.  The unit will measure 12x12.

Fold and iron the extra inch of backing fabric in half so that it meets up with the raw edge of your hot pad.  Then fold again to the top of the hot pad and secure in place.  (I was using bobby pins at this point but my new favorite method is using school glue to hold fabric in place. Simply set with a hot dry iron!)

Fold your corner diagonally so that it meets with the raw edge of the next side.  Then continue by folding that edge in half and then again up onto the hot pad, just as you did on the first side.  Continue working your way around the hot pad until all four sides are ready to sew.

Sew binding in place.  Get your stitching as close to the inside edge of the binding as you can.  And if you're using bobby pins or other gadgets to hold the binding in place, please be sure to remove them as you sew!  (If you switch to glue, you won't have to worry about that anymore!)

One charm pack will make four hot pads.  (Use your left over strip to start sewing another set for more hot pads!)  And don't forget to come over to my blog to see them made in other Moda fabrics and a few other projects I've made with these fun blocks!  I have to say, I'm sorta in love with the quilt. :-)

-Melanie
{MelanieDramatic}